Politics & Government
Haaland To DoD: Military Families Need Relief
Congresswoman leads coalition urging financial relief for military families caught out by DoD's 'Stop Movement' COVID-19 order.
ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01, Albuquerque) is leading a bipartisan coalition of elected officials seeking relief for military families suffering financially as a result of the Department of Defense (DoD) Stop Movement Order.
The Order, released March 11th, curtailed all military-related movement whilst the nation fights the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy applies to both military and civilian personnel as well as their families, to both Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and Temporary Duty assignments, and it’s the financial implications for service member and families caught in the midst of those processes that the coalition are urging the DoD to address.
The inability to follow through with a change of station, separation, or retirement has left some service members with having to honor housing contracts in two locations and facing difficulty in having advanced housing deposits or similar payments returned. In addition, spouse job losses and other issues related to expected-but-now-cancelled moves have resulted in many military families finding themselves in extreme financial distress.
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The Congresswoman is pleading with the Department of Defense to provide the necessary assistance and resources to any military families suffering financially as a result of the Stop Movement Order.
In the letter, Rep. Haaland states, “We strongly urge you to show the same level of swift action you did in issuing the Stop Movement Order to exercise every measure within your authority to provide the Services with the guidance and resources needed to ensure care and support to every military member and family adversely affected by this order.”
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The letter, addressed to Defense Secretary Mike Esper, was signed by 35 U.S. Representatives, including 29 Democrats and 6 Republicans, from constituencies across the country.
In addition the letter was endorsed by several military and veterans’ support organizations including the National Military Family Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The Defense Secretary’s office have yet to respond to requests for comment
The letter can be read in full at : https://haaland.house.gov/sites/haaland.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Letter_DoD-FinancialReliefForMilitaryFamilies_04022020_0.pdf